Posts In: meditation

“When we live without listening to the timing of things, when we live and work in twenty-four-hour shifts without rest – we are on war time, mobilized for battle. Yes, we are strong and capable people, we can work without stopping, faster and faster… But remember: No living thing lives like this. There are greater rhythms, seasons and hormonal cycles and sunsets and moonrises and great movements of seas and stars. We are part of the creation story, subject to all its laws and rhythms.” – Wayne Mueller, Sabbath

Join Octavia Raheem and Meryl Arnett for a Day of Chill- a half day retreat 11:00 am to 3:00pm on Sunday December 1, 2019. We will do as little as possible. We will chill out, rest, connect to an unhurried rhythm. We will simply be.

The retreat includes:

Meditation

All-levels restorative yoga+ yoga nidra

Workshop on making space in your calendar for chill time

Journaling

Lunch {vegan & vegetarian options} available + herbal teas available through out day

Time to be in community with one like minded people

Closing circle

Special ‘chill’ gift

Investment:

Early Bird- $169 (before November 15, 2019) Regular price- $189

Due to the intimate + super chill nature of this experience, space is limited.

There is something magical about the longest day of the year.
It’s a tipping point.
A celebration of light.
A welcoming of the approaching darkness.Join Meryl Arnett on Friday, June 21 {The Summer Solstice} for an extra special meditation practice as we honor the light and welcome the dark. From 8 – 10 p.m. we will meditate, journal, build a Solstice alter and set intentions for the second half of the year.This moment invites in a deeper connection to our senses, to the elements, and to our very aliveness. This moment, both ordinary and extraordinary, is sacred. Join us.

Some meditation experience is recommended. Please bring a journal and pen.

Pro tip: be sure to sign up for the 6:15 p.m. ChillShop yoga class beforehand to stretch and quiet the mind before our group meditation.

Set in the heart of the ancient and mystical Appalachian Mountains, the vision of Asheville Yoga Festival is to create a space for connection, adventure, play, relaxation and healing.

Downtown Asheville will be the retro-urban backdrop for the 2018 festival that will feature over 35 world-class presenters & musicians, and 80+ offerings including yoga, music and outdoor activities. In between classes you will have time to stroll through our beautiful outdoor Mountain Air Market, home to variety of unique health & wellness vendors and tasty treats.

While enjoying the pedestrian-friendly festival, you will have the opportunity to experience the eclectic, funky downtown scene complete with a variety of locally owned shops, art galleries, and close to 100 restaurants, coffeeshops & cafes.

Join Sacred Chill West’s Co-owner Octavia Raheem Saturday July 27th at 8am for Sacred+ Chill- Resting Within and Sunday July 28 at 2:00pm for Power of Slow

The exploration of silence is one of our most sacred practices; it is an exploration of the soul. This half-day retreat is an opportunity for inner listening, for reflecting, and for intention setting. We sit on the first day of autumn to welcome in the harvest of all our work thus far. This is a rich time to broaden your awakening and deepen your understanding of yourself and your practice.

This retreat in broken into alternating sessions of seated meditation and walking meditation. Our program will begin with an introduction and explanation of both practices as well as a review of our different options for seated practice.

Tea and light snacks will be available throughout the half-day experience. Please bring a journal and pen with you.

Give yourself the gift of not only this experience but time and space afterwards. Don’t schedule a noisy, busy afternoon. Stay at home. Get your grocery shopping/meal planning/to-do-list-making done earlier so that this day seamlessly shifts from the silent retreat to the comforts of home, whether alone or with the company of your family.

On emerging from the trance of our daily habits and thoughts to step into our fullness as woke, compassionate and joyful beings.

On waking up our intentions and resolutions so that they don’t dwindle away behind a mountain of unanswered emails, dirty dishes and Facebook posts.

Our April 3-week Meditation series, Awaken Your Practice, will offer 3 jewels of a woke practice. Through foundational techniques, Simplicity – Discipline – Renunciation, we are able to deepen and reconnect to the intention behind meditation. We are also able to see how it assists us in awakening to our Truths.

If your meditation practice has slowly drifted away as the year has progressed, if you find yourself bored with your practice, or maybe just feeling a little disconnected in general… Join Meryl for this special meditation series. Together, we will reconnect to the simplicity & joy of meditation.

Never meditated? Tried and thought you failed? Yep, this series is for you too!

All levels welcome.

Register for the full 3-week series: $45/person (only $15/class!)Or use your class card to drop-in.

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Meryl Arnett, E-RYT 500 and Co-Owner of Sacred Chill {West}, has been teaching in Atlanta since 2010. Her passion is introducing mindfulness in ways that are accessible to all of us. She has taught meditation to Fortune 500 companies, from the floor of Phillips Arena, at festivals across the city, and she helped create the first yoga + meditation studio in Atlanta to offer regular, independent meditation classes. Teaching over 300 hours of meditation each year, Meryl continues to study and practice daily with teachers she respects deeply, including Tara Brach, Jack Kornfield, Susan Piver, and Yoganand Michael Carroll. Learn more at merylarnett.com or sacredchillwest.com.

SoundMind combines yoga and the full, resonant sounds of live cello to create a powerful and soul stirring class experience. The gentle instruction, sounds and vibrations emanating from the cello have been known to guide students to new depths in their practice.
Charisse, who is 4 months into recovery from surgery on her achilles tendon has been exploring grace a lot lately, and is bringing this lens to her teaching and practice on and off the mat. This edition of SoundMind will use the theme of “grace” as a tool to help us approach our practice with positive self-talk, less perfectionism, more patience and compassion.

SoundMind is an all-levels classical yoga class that welcomes and encourages beginners, while also encouraging those with experience to explore their edge and approach practice with a beginner’s mind.

As co-creators of SoundMind, Charisse M. Williams (RYT-200) guides participants through the poses, while Okorie Johnson, creator of the Epi.phony solo cello series, weaves a real-time, improvised, soulful score with the poses. Together they deliver the participants to a long deep savasana (corpse pose) at the end of class.

Rental mats available for $2. All other props will be provided. Please arrive early to find your space and settle in; class will begin promptly at 2:30pm.

Not simply a yoga practice, this mindfully curated experience is an opportunity to for us to gather and rest. It is an opportunity for us to laugh, cry, share stories, and connect. It is a space to celebrate the joy, triumphs, and truths of being + becoming mothers.

Join Sacred Chill {West} co-owner Octavia Raheem for an afternoon focused on restorative yoga, mothering the mother, grown folks decadence {wine, dessert+ more), and community for Black women who are mothers, expecting, or in the process of planning to become one.This grounding and nourishing restorative class will only include poses that allow us to relax, release, and rest. Here we don’t have to tend to anyone but ourselves.Self-identified Black women are welcome to join. All levels are welcome to practice. No prior yoga experience is necessary.

This is a great experience for mother and daughter pairs 21+, and though we love our little ones- this practice is just for you, not them.

-Please bring your own mat or complimentary mats available on site
-All other props for practice provided
-Pre-registration is required for this workshop
– Plan to arrive at least 10 minutes early to settle in
– No refunds or transfers

Y’all know we value CHILL. For real. We are a bunch of stressed out, overworked adults raising stressed out, over-scheduled children. We just survived what felt like an incredibly hurtful, tumultuous year, and in 2018 something MUST. CHANGE.Change doesn’t come from will alone. It doesn’t come from force, or from berating ourselves for our inability to get it all done. It doesn’t come from finding some mythical balance {ha!}.

We believe it comes from introducing some level of softness. A moment or two of not striving. Listening. Simply being still for a minute or two. Moving with kindness as the motivator rather than fear. We believe it comes from showing up, as we are- AND in community.

No one can do our inner and outer work for us, yet we cannot do this alone.

Begin 2018 with us to create lasting change.Our Be Chill Challenge:

Do you have to come everyday? Nah.Do you have to be “good” at yoga? Nope.Do you have to like meditation? Umm, No.Do you have to show up for yourself? Yes.

So what is it? It is our challenge to you. Show up. Be with your self in our diverse, inclusive, real community.

Start January 6, 2018 at 11:30am in our Begin yoga class.

Attend an opening “set it off” ceremony to “set” your intention+create your plan for the month on Saturday, January 6th 12:35-1:15pm

Practice at least three times a week. (Unlimited Month of classes included in price)

Exclusive online support via Private Facebook group

Weekly inspirational messages via email

Three free guided meditations+ one free guided yoga nidra audio

Special promotions and discounts that won’t be offered publicly.

Closing mini-retreat with mimosas and light bites on Sunday February 4 from 12:30-2:30pm

Members’ price: $49
Non Members’ price: $159

This month long experience is intended to be intimate, powerful, and transforming for our community. It is limited to the first 22 people who sign up.

The Biodynamic Yin Yoga module is part of our Art of Chill series: An Immersion and Self Care Experience for Yoga Teachers

Each module in this series will include the opportunity for teachers to be nourished and immersed in the practice as a student first. Teachers will leave with clear ways to cultivate a home practice. Additionally, expect to walk away from each module ready to incorporate into flow classes or teach as a stand-alone class.This is part of our CEU program, designed to give teachers who currently hold a 200/500-certification additional tools to create chill space for self and students.

About our Biodynamic Yin Yoga module: Many people come to yoga to get stronger or gain flexibility in their physical bodies. For some, that gives way to a sense that there is more to the practice than the body. Through the practice of yin yoga, we can connect to the subtle body or to that “something” we can’t quite touch even though we feel its impact in the physical realm, this pranic field. Yin yoga, specifically biodynamic, offers opportunities to process emotions, release tension, and find clarity on the mat. The result is often a more integrated connection to the self and a profound sense of wellbeing.

Biodynamic Yin Yoga is a subtle and chill practice that requires a different teaching skill set than more active styles. Yoga teachers of all traditions are invited to attend this training in order to learn more about this nurturing, nourishing style of yoga that is beneficial for students at all levels.

Sacred Chill {West}’s Biodynamic Yin Immersion with Cat Kabira is designed for Yoga Teachers who are looking to incorporate yin yoga+ biodynamics into their classes or for those wanting to deepen a personal practice. In this 15-hour course, you will learn:

• Yin Basics 101: the history and different approaches to yin and what biodynamic yin is
• Sequencing a yin practice
• Basic poses and how to modify for different bodies, injuries, tension patterns
• Introduction to Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy
• Introduction to working with subtle energetics; emotional, karmic, ancestral, and more
• Working with your voice and presence
• Uncovering the blocks that may come up for you in this unique style of teaching/practicing

Cat Kabira, E-RYT 500 is a global teacher trainer and subtle energetic arts initiator. As a yin teacher, she has studied with Sarah Powers and is familiar with Paul Grilley and Bernie Clark. Her approach to yin practice is open, spacious, and divinely feminine. In addition she is a shamanic healer, meditation teacher, cranio-sacral therapist, and intuitive. She seamlessly combines these practices with her approach to yin. This combination creates an unparalleled, nourishing, and transformational training experience. Her students remark, “Life-changing is not just a tagline. Cat’s the real deal.”

The Restorative Yoga module is part of our Art of Chill series: An Immersion and Self Care Experience for Yoga Teachers

There is immense power in the chill. There is a science and art to learning and teaching it. This series is the first of its kind in Atlanta. It is designed to specifically nourish the whole being of the yoga teacher as well as to be an introductory training in four elements of yoga that define chill: meditation, yoga nidra, restorative, and yin yoga.

Each module will include the opportunity for teachers to be nourished and immersed in the practice as a student first. Teachers will leave with clear ways to cultivate a home practice. Additionally, expect to walk away from each module ready to incorporate into flow classes or teach as a stand-alone class.

This is part of our CEU program, designed to give teachers who currently hold a 200/500 certification additional tools to create chill space for self and students

About our Restorative Module: Many people come to yoga seeking relief from the stress and pressure of everyday life. By calming the nervous system and unblocking lines of energy in the body, the long, supported holds in Restorative yoga can offer opportunities to process emotions, release tension, and find clarity on the mat. The result is often a renewed connection to the self and a profound sense of wellbeing.

Restorative yoga is a subtle practice that requires a different teaching skillset than more active styles. Yoga teachers of all traditions are invited to attend this immersion in order to learn more about this nurturing, nourishing style of yoga that is beneficial for students at all levels.

Sacred Chill {West}’s Restorative Immersion is designed for Yoga Teachers who are looking to incorporate restorative yoga into their classes or for those wanting to deepen a personal practice. In this 15-hour course, you will learn:

• The role of Restorative yoga in regulating the nervous system.
• The flow of a Restorative yoga class.
• Props and how to use them to support people of all shapes, sizes, and abilities in Restorative yoga poses.
• Hands-on assists to guide energy throughout the body while in Restorative yoga poses.
• Ideas for weaving Restorative yoga into more active class formats.
• Restorative yoga poses with little or no props.

Stacey Beth Shulman, RYT 500 is influenced by many styles of yoga, including Kripalu, Pranakriya, and Svaroopa. She has been teaching Restorative yoga classes for more than seven years. It is her mission to bring positive regard and body awareness to people of all shapes, sizes, abilities, and genders through gentle movement and attention to breath. Find out more by visiting www.CurvyYogini.com.